I have never considered myself an artistic person. I hate drawing, painting, sculpting...... I never had the talent to do any of it, and after elementary school, when it was no longer required, I quickly stopped doing it. However, I also have this habit of seeing something and needing whatever it is..... and not just the model that will work just fine, but the best.
Many years ago, I became obsessed with the idea of a Cricut cutting machine. In reality, I had no clue what I was going to do with it, but I knew I wanted one. I didn't know much about it, but again, it just looked so cool! I was convinced that this was going to be the thing that made me creative and artsy. Time passed and I didn't think about it as often as I had, and eventually I forgot about it. Until sometime in 2018. I started seeing it again in stores and on my ever growing Pinterest collection. And once again, I was obsessed. Except this time I was determined to get it. I had many people trying to talk me into a cheaper option, or did I really need it at all? I would not be convinced..... in fact I became more sure that not only did I need a Cricut, but I needed the Maker - their top of the line cutting machine.
So in Fall 2019, I bought myself one. Still didn't know 100% what I was going to do with it, but I had grandiose dreams of making jewelry, t-shirts, and wine glasses. And I was convinced that I was going to make tons of money off of this. I definitely had my head stuck up in the clouds. Yes, I have sold some things, and made some really cool stuff for my friends and family. But this so did not become that next great thing I would use to make my first million - I am convinced it will happen at some point though!! :)
Probably my favorite thing to make is t-shirts. There is just no limit to what you can do and there are some really creative people out there that make designs you can buy and use. And I quickly discovered that working on these projects, especially with t-shirts, I found it to be very relaxing and cathartic. This hobby of mine, even though it wasn't making me my first million, became an amazing stress reliever and I have noticed that when I am working on something and having fun with it, my mental health tends to do better. So as I was sitting on my couch a few days ago, the day before I started this blog, and watching one of my favorite movies (Letters to Juliet), I had this great idea for a t-shirt. One of my favorite lines comes from this movie, and really rings true for me. "Life is the messy bits." I knew that I had to have this on a t-shirt and I had the perfect idea to spice it up a bit.
As I worked on the t-shirt, I was also processing the fact that I had a lot going on, and knew I was going to need an outlet for some of this stress, and as much as I love my crafting, I also knew that I would go broke if I tried to make a t-shirt every time I got stressed! Crafting is not a cheap hobby, and as much as I knew I would want to throw myself into it, I knew I needed a less budget breaking option.
One line from a movie, one t-shirt, one small idea. They all have a thread that connects them and have a way of moving you forward and keeping you focused. That one quote from one of my favorite movies has now brought me here. I have always enjoyed writing, its something that I don't totally care if I am good at or not, but it is still something I like to do regardless. There is a unique way of being able to get your thoughts out that you can do through writing, that isn't possible any other way. So this is the beginning of this journey, how one stress reliever can lead to another and brand new possibilities.
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